That’s one lesson that President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the LDS Church’s First Presidency, learned from his mother as a young man.

“If you are on the right path, it will always be uphill,” she told him.

In his new book, “Choose Higher Ground,” President Eyring teaches that to choose the Lord’s way is to choose higher ground.

The book is a collection of talks offering a roadmap to spiritual progress.

President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the author of "Choose Higher Ground." (Deseret News Archive)

“The Lord is anxious to lead us to the safety of higher ground, away from the path of physical and spiritual danger,” President Eyring wrote. “His upward path will require us to climb.”

The book is divided up into five sections, with each one explaining different ways in which an individual can accomplish the upward journey. The titles of the sections include “A Strong Foundation,” “Personal Growth Through Helping Others,” “Strength in Adversity,” “Power to Live a Consecrated Life,” and “Help for the Last Days.”

One crucial element in the upward journey is the companionship of the Holy Ghost, President Eyring writes.

“Let us do whatever is required to qualify for the Holy Ghost as our companion,” he wrote, “and then let us go forward fearlessly so that we will be given the powers to do whatever the Lord calls us to do.”

“Choose Higher Ground" is available wherever LDS books are sold.

President Eyring was called as first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2008. He has served as a general authority since 1985, when he was called to serve in the presiding bishopric. He was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve in 1995 and as second counselor in the First Presidency in 2007.

President Eyring holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and graduate degrees from Harvard. He worked as an associate professor at Stanford School of Business before becoming the president of Ricks College in the 1970s. He and his wife, Kathleen Johnson Eyring, are the parents of six children and grandparents of 28.